Hi! That's a very interesting observation! From the little research I did, it does seem that the middle classes especially do get rather embarrassed about standing out because of their accent. You know, if you're upper class, you kind of "own" it and don't really care what people think of you. But when you're in the middle, you might feel a bit self-conscious of sounding "arrogant", "posh" or "too well spoken". I know I've definitely felt that way sometimes. For example, I'll "dumb" down my vocabulary when I'm with some friends of mine, so not to appear "big-headed" or "trying too hard". Do you know what I mean?

Either way, I do find this kind of thing fascinating. And isn't it strange how so many people seem to care so much about their accents and how they are defined because of it?

Ah yes, I've definitely picked up some idiomatic habits! For example, from France, I'll now say "quoi!" at the end of almost every sentence, even when speaking in English!! (Which literally makes no sense if translated, but serves as a sort of intensifier.)

But more than that, I've also absorbed the various inflections in the way certain people around me speak. For example, I'll put more emphasis on a particular syllable on a word in English that shouldn't even be there! It's actually really amusing!

Thanks so much for reading and sharing your experiences! Take care :)